First birthday shirt: Burda 9505

I can scarcely believe it myself, but Toby turned one last week.  He celebrated by taking his first steps which he soon followed up with some speed walking and I can't help but bust out an old cliché - where has my little baby gone?!

I've decided to start a birthday tradition for Toby and make him a shirt each birthday, much like I make a new dress for Anna each birthday.  If there's one thing I've learnt so far as a mother of two is that you need to be as equal as possible, mainly to stop the whinging and complaining! So here is Toby's first birthday shirt, worn with a pair of hand me down jeans I had previously made for Anna:

I used Burda 9505, which the lovely Steph in New Zealand posted to me last August - thanks again Steph it certainly came in handy.  I would like to say that I whipped this out in a few hours, because it's only a little bitty shirt but it took me the best part of Saturday to cut it out and sew.  I'll never again complain about children's clothes costing nearly as much as adult clothes, sure there's less fabric but it takes just as long to sew and maybe even longer given how fiddly it can get on a small scale.

This shirt is a replica of an adult shirt, complete with sleeve placket and cuffs, collar stand and yoke  but it was worth it because it's just so stinkin' cute as a miniature business shirt.

From the stash I found a rather bright red and white plaid cotton, which had been in there a long time but is just right for a little boy.  I managed to match the plaid at the front and side seams, but I cut the yoke and patch pocket on the bias to avoid having to match those stripes up.

I haven't sewn a Burda envelope pattern for a long time, and I don't think I've sewn one of their kid's patterns but I have to say the sizing was spot on and the instructions weren't nearly as confusing as the magazine.  I suppose it's just a straightforward shirt so not even Burda couldn't complicate the instructions too much.  The only change I would make to the pattern is to make the cuff wider because it's a little tight around Toby's pudgy wrist and maybe shorten the placket as it seems to be open almost to his elbow.  Although that does help with folding the shirt sleeves up so that he can get down to work: